Massilia

Massilia was a Greek colony in southern France which was established in 600 BC; it is now known as Marseille. Greek colonists from Phocaea in Ionia sought to harvest the region's resources and trade from Massilia's natural harbor, and, by the start of the 4th century BC, the trading post became one of the busiest ports of the Mediterranean. It expanded north into Gaul along the Rhone and Durance Rivers, and it came to be run as an oligarchy, an assembly headde by local families. The population was a hybrid of Greek settlers, Gallic locals, and others pulled to the city by trade, and the city became rivals with both the Gauls and Carthage. The city-state sided with the roman Republic during the Punic Wars, and it retained its independence until 49 BC, when Julius Caesar conquered Massilia (an ally of the Roman Senate) during Caesar's Civil War. It became a Roman city, and it is still a major city in France.